PAUL O'GRADY: FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS | COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS | RAIN DOGS

This article was originally published in The Courier on 8th April 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – Thursday, STV, 8:30pm

When Paul O’Grady passed away recently at the untimely age of 67, the multitude of tributes spoke volumes. 

This was no mere showbiz personality. He was beloved, unique, a naturally funny and thoroughly decent human being whose kindness was informed by his lifelong loathing of social injustice. 

I can’t, off the top of my head, think of another acerbic working-class socialist drag queen who became – and he always understandably blanched at this mantle – a national treasure. 

We’ll miss him. Hence why this final series of For the Love of Dogs, recorded not long before he died, will be a bittersweet viewing experience. A reliably lovely show hosted by a reliably lovely man. RIP.

Designing the Hebrides – Monday, BBC Scotland, 10pm/Wednesday, BBC Two, 8pm

The talented interior designer Banjo Beale (great name, great guy) fronts this charming new series in which he gets his own business off the ground. 

Beale, who was born in Australia, has lived on the Isle of Mull for the last eight years. In episode one, the BBC’s Interior Design Masters winner is tasked with transforming a traditional family-run Tobermory fish shop while making sure to retain its tasteful heritage. 

Along the way he seeks advice from his husband Ro and a supportive team of merrily toiling artisan recruits. “This is my first big commercial job here on Mull,” he declares. “If I don’t get it right there will be no more.” SPOILER: There will be more.

Colin from Accounts – Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

Written by and starring husband-and-wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, this likeable, dry-witted Australian comedy revolves around Gordon and Ashley, a rather dysfunctional and seemingly mismatched couple who ‘meet cute’ when Gordon accidentally hits an adorable little dog with his car. 

As you would expect, Brammall and Dyer share a natural chemistry, they bounce off each other nicely. Fumbling awkwardness can sometimes be an irritating comic conceit, but Colin from Accounts uses it as a starting point for some satisfying silliness and sharp lines. This is not your standard rom-com. 

And just in case you’re wondering, the meaning behind that title is explained towards the end of episode one. 

Rain Dogs – Tuesday, BBC One, 10:40pm

In episode two of this excellent black comedy-drama about a group of misfits barely scraping by, we spend some time with single mum Costello (Daisy May Cooper) as she goes through the motions of her unloved day job in a Soho peep show. 

Costello prefers making a bit of money from posing as a cleaner for a sleazy yet harmless old alcoholic artist played by Adrian Edmondson. We also discover that she’s a talented writer.

Rain Dogs is a refreshingly blunt and bitterly funny attack on the ways in which people living on the breadline are cruelly disregarded by right-wingers and patronised by shallow middle-class liberals. Both groups misunderstand the likes of Costello and her surrogate family. 

Stacey Dooley: Ready for War? – Wednesday, BBC Three, 9pm

Dooley’s latest investigative report follows a group of young Ukrainian civilians as they arrive in the UK for five weeks of intensive army training. They will be taught how to kill and how to survive in the war against Russia. 

“This isn’t training on the off chance that one day they may end up in a warzone,” says Dooley, “this is them seriously preparing themselves to be on that frontline in five weeks’ time.” 

Her interviewees include a welder who is prepared to give his life in order for his child to grow up in a free country, and a florist who has family members already fighting on the frontline. As always, Dooley asks all the right questions and listens. 

Unreported World – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm

Lebanon is currently in the grip of a catastrophic banking crisis. The so-called ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ crashed back in 2019. Over a million Lebanese people have been locked out of their bank accounts; if they’re lucky, they can withdraw a few hundred pounds a month. 

The latest series of Channel 4’s long-running foreign affairs strand kicks off with the story of an utterly desperate couple who are planning to rob a bank. It’s the only way to get hold of their savings. 

Your roving reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy illustrates just how dire things are. Lebanon’s government is paralysed and its banks resemble fortresses. The people are angry, revolution is in the air 

Late Night Lycett – Friday, Channel 4, 10pm

Two weeks ago, Joe Lycett signed off the first episode of his latest comedy vehicle with these poignant words: “This one’s for Paul O’Grady”. 

It was no mere showbiz platitude; Late Night Lycett is infused with O’Grady’s recently departed spirit. He would’ve loved the daft chaos and pointed subversion of this thoroughly inclusive hoot of alternative light entertainment hosted by a vocally left-wing gay comedian gleefully needling bores and bigots. 

It’s a live show, so God only knows what Friday’s episode will involve, but this much I can guarantee: it won’t be drab. The sly, unflappable Lycett was born to do this, he’s finally found a TV format to suit his talents.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Magpie Murders – Saturday 1st April, BBC One

The great Lesley Manville stars in this meta-textual murder mystery as a literary editor whose comfortable life is capsized when one of her most successful authors delivers an unfinished manuscript. 

Why is the last chapter missing? The ailing and preternaturally cantankerous author has apparently taken his own life. 

Magpie Murders is admirably ambitious for a mainstream show of this nature. A la The Singing Detective, writer Anthony Horowitz weaves the melancholy period exploits of a fictional sleuth into his present-day narrative. 

However, it’s all a bit too arch for its own good. I welcome the cleverness and irony, but I don’t find it particularly engaging as a piece of entertainment. It feels so far like a theoretical exercise.

Highland Cops – Sunday 2nd April, BBC Scotland

This resolutely solemn frontline series follows Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Division as they go about their daily crime and emergency-solving business in an otherwise beautiful part of the world. 

It began with an investigation into suspected deer poaching, the seizure of some illegal drugs being sent through the post, a nocturnal detour into the apparently widespread problem of antisocial drivers in their souped-up cars, and the rigorous yet ultimately fruitless search for a missing survival expert. 

That last case lingered as the closing credits rolled, there was no uplifting coda: the poor man still hasn’t been found. 

Highland Cops is a solidly-crafted addition to an unstoppable TV genre. It fulfils its duty.

DARREN McGARVEY'S ADDICTIONS + FERGAL KEANE: LIVING WITH PTSD + INSIDE NO. 9

This article was originally published in The Courier on 7th May 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Darren McGarvey’s Addictions – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Scotland has the highest drug fatality rate in Europe and the highest alcohol-related death rate in the UK. We’re Britain’s gambling capital and we have a serious obesity problem. Why are so many Scottish people struggling desperately with addiction? 

In this sensitive new series, author, journalist and musician Darren McGarvey examines the issue while investigating measures that could and should be in place to help addicts. 

McGarvey is a recovering alcoholic. Like all intelligent, empathetic people, he recognises that alcoholism is a complicated illness. In episode one he meets with medical experts and other recovering addicts. 

The programme approaches alcohol misuse from various considered angles. There are, of course, no straightforward answers, but this is a valuable report.

Britain’s Top Takeaways – Monday to Thursday, BBC Two, 8pm

Warning: don’t watch this series while feeling peckish, as you may end up blowing a fortune on takeaways. It’s a harmlessly formulaic contest in which top takeaway outlets from around the country go head to head in a pop-up HQ. 

The judges aren’t celebs for once. They’re ‘ordinary’ British couples and families tasked with sampling the wares of our contestants. It’s MasterChef meets Gogglebox, basically. An inevitable union we’ve all been waiting for. 

It begins with a battle betwixt five popular chippies, one of which is based in Coatbridge. They each add their own magic ingredients to the classic fish supper, a cornerstone of the great British diet. Your affable hosts are Sara Cox and comedian Darren Harriott.

Fergal Keane: Living with PTSD – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

The esteemed BBC News foreign correspondent Fergal Keane has reported on brutal conflicts for over 30 years. He’s witnessed so many harrowing atrocities, the absolute worst of humanity. Fourteen years ago he was diagnosed with PTSD. 

Recently, while filming in Kyiv on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he made a decision: it was time to go home and put war reports behind him. 

In this ruminative essay, Keane digs deep into his psyche while examining the effects of this debilitating condition. He’s very honest and self-aware. He states that his career was largely driven by idealism, but also by an addiction to the adrenaline of war reportage. It made him feel worthwhile. It also consumed him with survivor’s guilt.

Between the Covers – Wednesday, BBC Two, 7:30pm

A busy week for Sara Cox continues with the return of her engaging little book club. It’s impossible to dislike Cox, that’s just a fact, so this brief burst of ubiquity is entirely acceptable. 

Her guests this week are radio presenter Vick Hope, actor David Morrissey, television man Richard Osman and comedian/podcaster Deborah Frances White. 

This latest series is brought to you in conjunction with the BBC’s Big Jubilee Read, which celebrates the work of writers from across the Commonwealth. One of the novels under review in episode one is the Booker Prize-winning The English Patient by Sri Lankan author Michael Ondaatje. 

As always, the panel also wax lyrical about some of their favourite tomes.

DNA Family Secrets – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Stacey Dooley returns for another series of carefully handled and potentially life-changing DNA investigations. Three people take a test this week. 

Richard has always wanted to know the identity of his father; he never received a satisfactory answer from his mother, who passed away quite recently. Glen, who is mixed race, also doesn’t know who his father was. He’s always wondered about his exact ethnic heritage. Finding out will hopefully complete his sense of self. Meanwhile, Janet has reason to believe that she has a secret half-sister in Austria. 

Dooley’s expert team of geneticists, genealogists and doctors have to start from scratch in all three cases, but they get results. Uplifting revelations ensue.

Inside No. 9 – Wednesday, BBC Two, 10pm

It recently occurred to me that Inside No. 9 is a bona fide modern classic. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have, across seven series and over 40 episodes, maintained a remarkably high quality threshold. 

This anthology is an ingenious endeavour made with evident love and care, one which rewards the viewer on an almost entirely consistent basis. Exemplary television. 

The latest episode is a meta-textual critique of generic crime fiction tropes. Sophie Okonedo, brilliant as always, stars as a dysfunctional cop who’s been suspended from duty. But she’s still obsessed with solving the case of a missing child. The story unfolds in a discombobulating yet ultimately satisfying manner. 

Obviously I can’t say any more than that, but it’s a good ‘un.

Growing Up Scottish – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

This bittersweet nostalgia-fest about coming of age in Scotland during the last three decades of the 20^th Century also doubles up as a talking head showcase for emerging comedians such as Rachel Jackson, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and TJ Singh. 

Series two commences with an episode based around the intertwined themes of friendship and home. The comics ruminate on some of the pastimes we’d invent to amuse ourselves as children in those pre-internet days. Anything would do just as long as it staved off the ultimate malaise: boredom. 

They also discuss the complex rules of sleepovers, while reflecting upon the vicissitudes of living in tenement flats, semi-detached houses, rented accommodation and even but ‘n’ bens. An amusing diversion.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The 1% Club – Saturday 30th April, STV

A big Saturday night quiz show hosted by Lee Mack? That sounds like fun. It’s not fun, it’s merely serviceable. 

The problem is self-evident: Mack, whose stock in trade is quick-fire improvised banter, is constrained by the format of a show in which 100 studio contestants are tasked with answering questions based on “logic and common sense”. His irreverent comic persona is entirely at odds with that premise. 

I’m not suggesting that Mack is some sort of maverick comedy genius, but he’s a naturally funny man who should be hosting a quiz in which he’s given carte blanche to mock proceedings a la Les Dawson on Blankety Blank. He’s not suited to a conventional show like this.

Love Life – Friday 6th May, BBC One

Season two of HBO’s romantic comedy anthology revolves around a new set of thirtysomething characters. 

Marcus and Mia are African Americans, which allows the writers to explore complex themes surrounding racial identity and cultural expectations. Marcus has never been in a long-term relationship with a black woman. His wife is white. But when he falls for Mia, who’s also in a relationship, he’s forced to confront an issue he’s always tiptoed around. 

That Love Life manages to navigate this territory in a witty, intelligent, nuanced way is a credit to the writers and cast. William Jackson Harper and Jessica Williams are charming and believable in their respective leading roles. This love story could be worth investing in.

THE WITCHFINDER + KATIE PRICE: WHAT HARVEY DID NEXT + OUR HOUSE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 5th March 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Witchfinder – Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

This promising new sitcom is written and directed by Neil and Rob Gibbons, a sibling duo who, since 2010, have been responsible for some of the greatest ever Alan Partridge material. 

Set in mid-17^th century England against a tumultuous backdrop of civil war, plague and deranged religious zealotry, it stars Tim Key (aka Sidekick Simon) as a hapless witchfinder, Jessica Hynes as his long-suffering assistant, and Daisy May Cooper from This Country as a sardonic woman accused of witchery. 

Python and Blackadder are the obvious touchstones, and there’s no denying that Key’s character – a pompous fool who desperately craves recognition – is in the Partridge mould. But The Witchfinder is still funny on its own farcical terms.

Katie Price: What Harvey Did Next – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

Last year, as you may recall, Katie Price and her teenage son Harvey participated in a tender documentary about their personal circumstances. This is the follow-up. 

Harvey has a complex variety of rare medical and behavioural conditions, which can make life difficult for him. The programme follows Harvey as he embarks upon a major rite of passage: leaving home for college, where he’ll stay for the next three years. Katie and Harvey are understandably anxious, but the brilliant support staff – a credit to their profession – ensure that this transition runs as smoothly as possible. 

It’s a touching portrait of a young man with learning difficulties gradually gaining independence, while a doting mother deals with her own mental health.

Our House – Monday to Thursday, STV, 9pm

Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton star in this psychological thriller about a divorced couple who make a fragile living arrangement for the sake of their children. And then, of course, it all goes horribly wrong. 

Based on a critically acclaimed bestseller by Louise Candlish, Our House is blighted by stilted dialogue and a faulty narrative structure. The flashbacks are supposed to invite intrigue, but the overall effect is enervating. I only had access to episode one, so for all I know it might reveal tremendous hidden depths by the end. But I doubt it. 

It’s just another instalment in ITV’s never-ending cavalcade of generic kitchen island thrillers. Compston and Middleton do their best, but the material is beyond salvation

Stacey Dooley: Inside the Convent – Monday, BBC One, 10:35pm

Dooley isn’t religious, but for the purposes of her latest investigative report she’s decided to reconsider her belief system while spending ten days in a small convent with some delightful Anglican nuns. 

They observe three key vows: poverty, obedience and celibacy. It’s a strictly-scheduled and repetitive existence, but they all seem happy enough. And it’s not as if they aren’t aware of the sacrifice they’ve made. Some of them admit to having wavered at times, but their faith in God is unstinting. 

Dooley, as always, strikes up a natural rapport with her interviewees. She returns, gently and without judgement, to a central question: how can you have devout faith in a world so beleaguered with cruelty and injustice?

Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

A textbook piece of competitive lifestyle television, this returning series pits ten aspiring interior designers against each other. Each week they have to magically transform various commercial spaces while impressing a formidable panel of design gurus including Michelle Ogundehin and Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen. 

The grand prize is a locked-contract with a luxury Cornwall hotel. Meanwhile, host Alan Carr picks up an easy paycheque. 

“I would class myself as a creative genius” boasts a designer who looks like Alan Rickman auditioning for a spaniel-only remake of Easy Rider. The contestants all say things like that, but we know how TV works in this post-Big Brother/Apprentice age. The producers cajole them into sounding as silly as possible.

Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

As you’ve no doubt surmised from the baldly descriptive title, Britain’s obesity problem is the subject of this new two-part series hosted by genial medical expert Michael Mosley. 

I haven’t seen the programme, previews weren’t available, but it sounds like a rather searching critique of successive governmental failures to effectively tackle the issue, no matter how many supposedly helpful policies they launch. 

Mosley, an unassuming man with a quietly authoritative grasp of well-researched facts, puts forward his own theories with regards to how the crisis can be solved without adding further harm to an already sorely tested NHS. He’s always worth listening to.  In episode one, Mosley’s interviewees include celebrity chef and patently sincere child health campaigner Jamie Oliver.

Grantchester – Friday, STV, 9pm

This ecclesiastical detective drama obviously hasn’t been the same since original star James Norton (TV critic cliché alert) hung up his dog collar, but it’s still a fairly enjoyable clue-sniffing distraction. It whiles away an hour in an entirely inoffensive way. Last of the Summer Crime, if you will. All Murders Great and Small. 

The latest series begins with the discovery of a corpse in the grounds of a struggling ancestral estate. But never mind that, it looks like our intrepid vicar hero could be smitten with a mysterious woman he meets in one of those new-fangled late 1950s jazz clubs. Meanwhile, Geordie (the ever-reliable Robson Green) tries to get back together with his estranged wife.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Peaky Blinders – Sunday 27th February, BBC One

And so, the end is near. As the final series of this stylised Shakespearean gangster tragedy got underway, the untimely passing of the great Helen McCrory was tastefully handled within the first ten minutes. Writer Stephen Knight killed her character off, the dreadful deed unseen for obvious reasons, but she’s not forgotten. Her vital role in this saga endures. 

The huge mainstream success of Peaky Blinders has been rather heartening. It is, after all, a fairly offbeat piece of work. But its unique qualities – that combination of hallucinatory psychodrama, vivid characters, a compelling storyline and a thickly clotted bloodstream of mordant wit – struck a clanging chord with viewers. It will be missed. But for now let’s enjoy its last hurrah.

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy – Sunday February 27, BBC Two

The actor Stanely Tucci is elegant charm personified. A dry-witted fellow with a passion for life. So no wonder this new series is an enjoyable confection. What’s not to like about a culinary travelogue in which a charismatic guide celebrates the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of various Italian cities? Superior comfort viewing. 

In episode one, Tucci visited Naples and the Amalfi Coast. It wasn’t an entirely cosy endeavour – Tucci explored the often troubled history of these regions – but his M.O. is basically this: Italy is a wonderful country, it has contributed so much to our cultural palette, and wouldn’t you just love to eat a slice of pizza while admiring some art? Well yes, Stanley, I would. 

GRETA THUNBERG: A YEAR TO CHANGE THE WORLD + TOO CLOSE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 10th April 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

The world-renowned environmental activist has galvanised millions in the fight against climate change. Towards the end of 2019, she took a year off school to examine the effects of global warming first-hand. A co-production between the BBC and PBS, this vital series follows Thunberg as she travels around the world – by boat – to meet leading climate experts. 

In Canada, she encounters melting glaciers and evidence of our biodiversity crisis. She also witnesses the devastating after-effects of California’s worst ever wildfire. 

Meanwhile, Thunberg and her supportive father discuss the pressures they’re under, although she’d clearly rather not talk about herself at all: “I don’t want you to listen to me, I want you to listen to the science.”

Too Close – Monday to Wednesday, STV, 9pm

Emily Watson stars in this morbid psychological thriller as Emma, a forensic psychiatrist tasked with assessing a woman branded in the tabloid press as a ‘yummy mummy monster’. Connie (played with considerable intensity by Denise Gough) tried to kill herself, her daughter and a neighbour’s child by driving into a river. She claims to have no memory of the incident.

Connie is arrogant, angry, cynical and manipulative. The scenes between her and Emma inhabit familiar territory: the intelligent patient/prisoner turning the tables on their interrogator. 

I only had access to episode one, but Too Close is quite intriguing and almost admirably bleak. I’m always suspicious of dramas about mental illness, they’re often quite tawdry and insensitive, but we’ll see.

All That Glitters: Britain’s Next Jewellery Star – Tuesday, BBC Two, 8pm

Comedian Katherine Ryan hosts this new “TV competition slash talent search format.” How deliciously ironic. I actually prefer it when derivative TV shows just plough ahead with the job at hand, instead of drawing attention to themselves with a knowing wink. It’s a cheap get-out clause. 

Anyway. This one finds a bunch of up-and-coming jewellers working on bespoke pieces that could last for centuries. You know the drill: they’re set a series of challenges while being judged by soundbite-spouting experts. 

Even if you have no interest whatsoever in jewellery, this is a fairly pleasant way to while away an hour of your life. But it is, like most programmes of its ilk, clearly better suited to a daytime slot.

Stacey Dooley: Back on the Psych Ward – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Last year, Dooley made a programme about life on an NHS mental health ward. This is her follow-up report. 

With characteristic sensitivity, she spends time with staff and patients to find out how they’ve been coping during the pandemic. Since COVID, the demand for beds has shot up. For so many people with pre-existing mental health issues, the isolation has been impossible to deal with. Young people have been affected more than any other age group. 

I don’t want to go into the specific details of what the various patients that Dooley meets are struggling with, as those details may prove triggering to some readers, but suffice to say it’s a programme made with the utmost care and integrity.

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – Wednesday, STV, 8pm

During this week’s visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, O’Grady meets some pooches in desperate need of TLC. Staffie-cross Roxi has far too much nervous energy to burn, so the staff try to calm her down with a gentle regime of stroking and exercise. 

The other star of the show is Dottie, a bulldog with the saddest face. Dottie has been overbred by her former owners; she’s exhausted and scared of pretty much everything. But then she’s paired with another lonely dog in need. 

I tend to get moist-eyed at the most ridiculous things, but For the Love of Dogs really is such a lovely, uplifting show. It makes the world feel like a slightly kinder place.

The Great British Sewing Bee – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

It’s back! From their new home on the banks of the Thames underneath London’s last surviving lighthouse, Esme Young from Central Saint Martin’s School of Fashion, Savile Row tailor Patrick Grant and cuddly host Joe Lycett welcome twelve new sewers competing for this year’s prize. 

A likeable bunch, they include a Bowie fan and former dinner lady, and a Frenchman who plays lead trumpet for London’s Gay Symphony Orchestra. 

It’s jolly old business as usual, during which they must design a loose-fitting buffet dress, a collarless 1960s-style blouse and transform a standard t-shirt into an imaginative item of clothing for any age or gender – one of the bold designs sends Grant into a giggling fit.

Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

With trust in the Metropolitan Police currently at an all-time low, this timely documentary travels back to an era when the public regarded the fuzz as an unassailable paragon of virtue. But as we now know, bent coppers exploited that myth for their own benefit. 

In early 1970s London, a secret network of corrupt CID detectives inhabited a murky world of extortion, fit-ups and racist violence. They preyed on defenceless working-class people and ethnic minorities, as well as tofu-munching political activists such as Caroline Coon. 

Propelled by a funky cop soundtrack and evocative archive footage, the episode also features covert recordings of bent coppers colluding with criminals: “We’ve got more villains in our game than you’ve got in yours.”

LAST WEEK’S TV

Freddie Mercury: A Life in Ten Pictures – Saturday 3rd April, BBC Two

This touching account of Sir Fred’s life featured contributions from some of the non-famous people who knew and loved him. They pored over private and professional photographs of Mercury as a way of providing insight into what he was really like. 

It began with the earliest known image of him, as an infant in Zanzibar, and ended with a photograph taken just a few months before he died. 

Although the story of Mercury’s life is familiar, the programme managed to untangle the private man from the self-made myth. A sensitive soul, he was an introverted extrovert who craved companionship. He was also a gay immigrant who overcame the odds stacked against him. Intimate and honest, the programme did him justice.

Line of Duty – Sunday 4th April, BBC One

Now we’re sucking diesel. This series began with an uninspiring, poorly-paced episode, but it has ramped up considerably since. 

Episode three contained one of those great LoD set-pieces: corrupt copper Ryan, who we first encountered as a terrifying child in series one, attempted to bump off Terry, the framed young suspect with learning difficulties, by staging a car crash in a reservoir. Terry survived, but Ryan drowned the other officer who was in the car. Brutal. 

LoD is essentially a daft yet compelling melodrama made up on the hoof, but I do admire the way it confronts contentious real-life issues such as the murder of Jill Dando and Jimmy Savile’s connections within the highest echelons of power. Why, it’s almost subversive.

 

CAROLINE FLACK: HER LIFE AND DEATH + CROCK OF GOLD: A FEW ROUNDS WITH SHANE MacGOWAN

This article was originally published in The Courier on 13th March 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

In December 2019, TV presenter Caroline Flack was arrested for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend. Two months later she took her own life. In this touching documentary, Flack’s tragic story is told by those who knew her best. 

Her family reveal that even as a child she was prone to mood swings. She found heartbreak impossible to deal with. She suffered breakdowns and self-harmed. Like so many people do, she hid her depression. This is all discussed in a gentle, loving way. 

It’s a sensitive eulogy to an emotionally fragile person and a damning indictment of our callous modern age. Flack was hounded by the press and abused on social media. I hope those ghouls are utterly ashamed of themselves.

DNA Family Secrets – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

The final episode of this poignant genealogy series follows host Stacey Dooley as she assists more folk in search of ancestry answers. Mixed-race brothers Peter and David, who were adopted, want to find out more about their biological father. They have no idea where he was from or what ethnicity he was. 

Meanwhile, Manuela is desperate to know if her sight-impaired son carries a gene that causes blindness, and Tink hopes to find out whether she has sperm donor siblings. 

Dooley is a good choice of host, she’s likeable and empathetic, but the unassuming star of the show is Professor Turi King, who explains the science and gently guides the contributors through the entire process. She radiates kindness.

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan – Tuesday, BBC Four, 10pm

This messy documentary is a thoroughly depressing portrait of a chronic alcoholic who was once a great talent. 

Director Julien Temple tries to inject his usual punk-mythological energy into proceedings, but at one point he presumably realised that there’s nothing funny or romantic about this saga: a recurring shot of a cadaverous MacGowan today, barely capable of lifting a glass of wine to his lips, punctuates the narrative. 

The man himself is essentially the narrator, his drowsy, booze-pickled slur and rattlesnake cackle a recurring motif. He struggles to articulate his thoughts on politics and religion with Gerry Adams. There are pointless cameos from those utter buffoons Johnny Depp and Bobby Gillespie. You’ll probably feel sad, awkward and exhausted by the end.

Taskmaster – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

The latest series of this genial comedy gameshow kicks off with a typically silly question: What’s the most impressive thing you can do under a table with one hand while staring and waving at the camera? 

You know the drill by now. Host Greg Davies – a naturally funny man – asks celebrities to conquer some mildly physical tasks. This week’s contestants are Lee Mack, Jamali Madix, Sarah Kendall, Charlotte Ritchie and Mike Wozniak. 

Note to the producers: we know there’s no studio audience, you don’t have to dub on ghostly smatterings of laughter and applause every few minutes. It’s distracting and impossible to ignore once noticed. And yes, I would like you, dear reader, to notice it too, just so I don’t feel alone.

Rob Brydon’s Now That’s What I Call Comic Relief – Thursday, BBC Four, 10pm

It’s been a criminally long time since we’ve seen libidinous soul man Theophilus P. Wildebeest on our screens, so thank God almighty for this cheery clip show in which Lenny Henry’s skin-tight alter-ego is just one of the many musical highlights. 

Rob Brydon, no stranger to a charitable singsong himself, guides us through memorable Comic Relief performances from the likes of Elton John, George Michael, Tom Jones and Paul McCartney. We’re also reminded of the time when Portuguese crooner Tony Ferrino (Steve Coogan) performed a romantic duet with Bjork (Bjork). 

And you will, of course, be treated to those incessant karaoke contributions from Peter Kay and his buoyant army of ‘80s light entertainment survivors.

Comic Relief 2021 – Friday, BBC One and BBC Two, 7pm

And here’s the really big shoe (copyright Ed Sullivan; there’s a reference for the swinging UK teenagers) itself. The Comic Relief telethon isn’t what it was in its late 1980s/early 1990s heyday, that exciting comedians-taking-over-the-airwaves anarchy is long gone. For nearly 30 years it’s been indistinguishable from cosy old Children in Need. 

Sir Lenworth is the last remaining link to that original epoch, and here he’s joined by guest hosts Alesha Dixon (a safe pair of hands who isn’t a comedian), Davina McCall (a vaguely tolerable presence who isn’t a comedian), David Tennant (a fine actor who isn’t a comedian) and Paddy McGuinness (a stagnant puddle of bin juice who has ‘comedian’ listed on his CV).

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Wall – Saturday 6th March, BBC One

Like all good people of taste and discernment, I’m obsessed with The Wall. The bizarre novelty of barely interested uber-geezer Danny Dyer hosting a gameshow is still funny. 

Last week he welcomed Jack and Thomas, a bright pair of twins who are The Wall’s youngest contestants thus far. Dyer, to his credit, didn’t patronise Jack, a wheelchair-user, nor did he milk the fact that he and Thomas were there to win money for their dear old mum. That’s not the Dyer way. No frills. Let’s bank some readies. 

I’m also fascinated by his love/hate relationship with the Wall itself. He definitely prostrates himself before it in the empty dead of night, stark naked and daubed in woad.

MAX CLIFFORD: THE FALL OF A TABLOID KING + WHY IS COVID KILLING PEOPLE OF COLOUR?

This article was originally published in The Courier on 26th February 2021. 

THIS WEEK'S TV

Max Clifford: The Fall of a Tabloid King – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

This excoriating documentary delves into the sordid cesspit of Clifford’s life. The now dead publicist was a vile human being: an amoral hypocrite, bully and narcissist; a psychopath; a pervert; a paedophile. Much like Savile, he hid in plain sight. 

Clifford revelled in power and the fear he wrought. A self-styled arch-manipulator, this arrogant media gangster thought he was untouchable. So no wonder we all enjoyed some schadenfreude when he was eventually exposed and incarcerated. 

But, via testaments from some of his identity-protected victims, the programme paints a bigger and far more important picture of an evil man who was kept afloat for years by our complicit media. It’s the antithesis of Clifford’s philosophy. It prints the truth.

Why is Covid Killing People of Colour? – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

“As a 55-year-old black man,” says actor David Harewood, “I am three times more likely to die from Covid-19 than a white man of my age.” To find out more about the reasons behind this stark statistic, he talks to various doctors and scientists, as well as people of colour who have lost loved ones during the pandemic. 

It’s an angering expose of health inequality in Britain. 

“Race is a biological fiction,” says one doctor of Indian origin. Instead, this is a systemic sociological issue rooted in decades of economic and racial discrimination. People of colour are more likely to work in lower-paying frontline roles, where protective conditions are often woefully inadequate. A national scandal.

DNA Family Secrets – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

This touching series is basically ITV’s Long Lost Families in newly upholstered trousers. But that’s fine, it works. In recent years, the growing popularity of genetic testing has given us unprecedented access to our ancestry. 

In episode one, host Stacey Dooley meets Bill, a mixed-race man who has never met his African-American father, and Richard, who recently discovered that he’s not biologically related to the man who raised him. He also learns that he may have a half-brother. Bill and Richard gain some comfort from their findings, but some of the surprises are overwhelming. 

Dooley also meets Charlie, a young wife and mother with a 50% chance of inheriting her father’s Huntingdon’s Disease. It’s an emotionally-charged hour of television.

The Terror – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Medals will be awarded to anyone who manages to endure episode one of this frost-bitten period drama for more than ten minutes. I had to watch the whole thing, because that’s what they pay me for. 

In 1845, two Royal Navy ships embarked upon a pioneering mission to navigate through the Arctic. They never returned. There’s a potentially interesting story here, but it’s (sigh) tragically capsized by a mannered, arid screenplay. There is no heart, no soul. Zero momentum, nothing to cling on to. It’s just an indistinct procession of liveried characters whispering at each other in gloomy gas-lit cabins. 

The only highlight is a scurvy-ridden crewmember suffering a sub-Lynchian hallucination. A tedious voyage of the damned.

The Pandemic at No. 47 – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Director Paddy Wivvel usually makes documentaries set in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. This time he focuses on his own privileged London neighbourhood during the first national lockdown. 

Despite its friendly outward appearance, this isn’t a cosy close-knit community at all. Most of Wivvel’s neighbours have never met each other before. As the programme unfolds, he talks to frightened people who have lost loved ones to Covid. He also pays lip service to the debilitating psychological effects of loneliness and isolation. 

But halfway through I began to suspect that it was a sly piece of social satire: a parody of upper middle-class foolishness. It is not. Honestly, some of the people Wivvel meets are like ridiculous characters from a sketch show penned by Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse.

LAST WEEK'S TV

Bloodlands – Sunday 21st February, BBC One

This ham-fisted thriller stars James Nesbitt in none-more-glowering mode as a policeman whose wife was murdered by a serial killer during The Troubles. Everyone he meets never tires of reminding him about this. He’s a haunted man. A. Haunted. Man. Got that? Good. 

The subject matter is deadly serious, I’m not making light of that at all, but Bloodlines makes a mockery of whatever its fundamental intentions were. Cliché is piled upon cliché: a deadpan Leslie Nielsen comedy without the jokes. 

I like Nesbitt. Give him a good script and he’ll deliver, but this is a turgid mess. Jed Mercurio of Line of Duty fame is one of the executive producers. It’s aiming for that sense of kinetic gravitas. It misses. It’s drivel.

Chris Packham’s Animal Einsteins – Sunday 21st February, BBC Two

Who are nature’s cleverest creatures? For too long dolphins have dominated the natural world’s mastermind rankings: now, via this lively fact-packed series, it’s time to celebrate their unsung rivals. 

Each week, using innovative scientific techniques, that nice Chris Packham and a dedicated team of researchers carry out a variety of intelligence tests. 

The undoubted highlight of episode one was the carefully controlled experiment which revealed that bees have enough brainpower to count from zero to five, a basic skill they use to their advantage in the wild. What’s more, their intelligence levels are flexible enough to understand the rudiments of football (sort of). 

Packham, a naturally engaging teacher, is in his educational element here.